D.C. developer gets last-minute pardon from Trump
Jonathan O'Connell, The Washington Post
Jan. 20, 2021
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Douglas Jemal, founder and president of Douglas Development, photographed in Washington on August 24, 2017.Washington Post photo by Marvin Joseph
Cowboy boot-wearing Washington D.C. real estate magnate Douglas Jemal was among those pardoned by President Donald Trump late Tuesday, absolving him of a 2007 conviction for wire fraud.
Jemal, 79, is one of the most influential and flamboyant developers in the nation's capital, having rebuilt big chunks of downtown, Columbia Heights and New York Avenue NE.
In a statement announcing the pardons early Wednesday, the White House said Jemal was "credited with rebuilding many urban inner cities" and said he was "instrumental to various other charitable causes."